Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Yogurt Question

I've been wanting to try making my own without a maker for some time... but with all my microbiology knowledge I'm too chicken.

Today I stumbled upon a cheap, but older, yogurt maker. Here's where I need your help... do any of you make your own yogurt? Do you use a maker, or do you make it on your own? Would an older yogurt maker do the trick???

About yogurt ... my mom use to make it years ago. The key is keeping it between 90 and 110 degrees. You might want to test the old maker to confirm that it can maintain this temperature consistently. Otherwise, it should work just fine. I know the one we had was pretty old...

I do not know recipes or details, but I know my grandparents and parents were occasionally making yorgurt in the very old-fashioned way when I was younger: mixing some yogurt into warmed milk in glass jars, and putting them in a bedding of towls and blankets to keep warm and gradually grow cold on their own. After a while (maybe a day) there was yogurt:) But maybe this is the kind of process that is scary to the microbiologists?:))

Hm, I started a comment and then lost it...but I wanted to say that I talked to my parents and the methods is indeed as I remember it, with a few details: in Romania they boil the milk (this is probably a legacy of pr-pasteurization days) and let it cool down (it should be only as warm as a "baby's bath"!!:)) It should not be hot because that does not work. And then, for a jar of 800 ml (what they use there) which is 3 1/3 cups, you add a spoon of mixed yogurt. A normal, large eating spoon, but not heaping because the yogurt will be too sour. Stir. You cover it with its lid (I think it should not be airtight, just covered) and then you "swaddle" the jar in a bedding, making sure it is covered underneath too and on all sides and above, so it does not get cold too easily. And you leave it on your counter, that is, in a warm room. And the next day you have yogurt. And if sometimes it does not become as solid, you can just increase slightly the yogurt starter amount, but home-made yogurt is not as solid as store-bought because it does not have gelatin in it (which is actually a good thing). And even if it is as thick as you want it, you stir it and have it with bread as Kefir or drinking yogurt. :)

Passionate Homemaking also has recipes for yogurt, one in a crockpot!:)

Ramona is absolutely right!! My parents are Romanian and I remember them making yogurt exactly as she describes it (with the swaddling). Good to know other people remember the ways of the "old country" lol!

When cooking, please make sure to follow kitchen hygiene and safety -- cook meat until internal temperature is at safe levels, always check labels for allergens, and use caution in the kitchen -- I love sharing recipes, but I am not liable for damages done as a result of trying these recipes.